I utilize the priceless information provided by the mysterious Mind Wonderin almost daily when choosing sources or looking for those special little moments that don't come across on just a setlist. But the underrating of 2/14/68 has my mind wonderin how anyone could have that feeling!?! That's fascinating to me. I understand the people who put up arguments against 5/8/77, but I can't imagine a fan of 68 Dead not loving this second set. Keep rockin what you rock and rate it how you rate it, I truly appreciate your work put into the reviews, but you're nuts on this one :-D

That out of the way, it's my subjective opinion that this is one of the greatest sets ever played. Or it's my favorite of the Jan/Feb 68 tapes anyway (with the Alligator sequence from 2/24 up there with this one). It's also my opinion that the Miller source is a fine substitute if you don't have the official. But I still reach for the official every time.

No electronic tuners back in those days, alas. Come on, tune up Phil, you're flat! Gotta take a star off for that, it's really distracting, for me anyway.

That out of the way, this was an important gig in the history of the band and the SF scene, when the top echelon bands took ownership of their own performance space, literally, and did some amazing things with it, even if the business plan was doomed. The recording quality is remarkable for that time, and it's exciting to listen to them when they were still gestating some of the best material in their catalog that had yet to appear on record.

The 1st Set of this home show is great, classic '68. The second is below average for '68. If you are looking for early '68 also try: 2-23-68, 2-24-68 & 3-16-68. You'll recognize several snippets in this show that were taken for Anthem of the Sun.

1st Set. The whole set is great. In particular the Morning Dew, and a highly entertaining Dark Star>China Cat>The Eleven. Joe McDonald guests on the verses for China Cat.

2nd Set. The Other One is typical of the era and the set peaks with a winning New Potato. After that it declines down to a sour Midnight Hour (save a solid-enough Alligator).

1st Set:   A
2nd Set: C-
Overall = 3¼ stars

SOURCES: There are places where the miller_89676 is better than Road Trips vol 2 #2. In particular, Jer's guitar is less snarling on the official release in some places, though clearer in the mix on others. Unlike the miller, the official is discontinuous between New Potato>Born Cross-Eyed, and several minutes of chatter are cut between Spanish Jam>Alligator & Feedback>Midnight Hour. It does have the complete beginning of Schoolgirl. The miller, however, is re-pitched and does a much better job of patching & pitching Alligator. Disc 1 of the official release runs slightly fast, needing -1% pitch correction. Disc 2 is slightly slow, needing +1% until the patch @12:48 in Alligator. It then runs very slow, needing +3% through Feedback. Midnight Hour then runs too fast, needing -2%. The 2nd Set was FM broadcast and commonly circulated.

Doesn't sound like Jerry. Great show!

Electric, Experimental, Innovative, Psychadellic Primal dead at their best...What more can be said? What a great start to valentines day, god bless
:-)

primordial Dead at its best

...and you should. Usually I'm disappointed with the bland official releases, but I just downloaded this Road Trips from iTunes and it's excellent, well worth the price.

Okay guys someone has to tell me how you can listen to this show when no url is available. there are a lot of reviews so obviously there has to be a way.

by the way, i was at this show. i remember it. vaguely anyway. i remember staring up at jerry as he played his guitar and thinking wow fucking cool man and he staring down at the crowd with that jerry look he sometimes had almost as if to say where the fuck am i at today anybody know

???

country joe was cool too back then he was just as popular if not more so than the dead because of grace janis sweet martha feel like i'm fixing to die and more.

hopefully somebody can tell me how to access this show. no rating until then, although if i go by back then it's a high five.

peace.

a TOP TEN all-timer for sure...

can anyone hook me up with a copy of the bonus disk from the fillmore box set? if so i can give you a copy of any soundbord on this site. really any one !!! e-mail me at

They were playing as if their lives depended on it, and this show is a perfect example of the Dead just starting to really hit their stride. It's amazing listening to Godchaux-era Dead, then throwing this in, and just being blown away by the fact that this is, in fact, the same band. I can't pick any highlights, as the whole show is killer. The Dead were in their bluesy, intense, "trip you out" mode here, as evidenced by The Other One suite on until the end.

The more I listen to '68, the more I want to build my time machine, so I can experience these mind-blowing songs first-hand, with a couple thousand other heads, drinking the Kool-Aid. That's right, not to the birth of mankind, but to right here: San Fran, February 14, 1968.

Great sound as always from Charlie Miller, but now it looks like I'm gonna have to go order the new Road Trips. For as good as the sound is here, I can't wait to check out the HDCD 8-track version.

all the evidence is there. this is the year they opened the door and went through and never looked back. this is the fruition of the practice and dedication they put in over the previous year.

one of the shows from this year that makes you think... this is the ESSENCE of IT ALL.....

essence |ˈesəns|
noun

the intrinsic nature or indispensable quality of something, esp. something abstract, that determines its character : conflict is the essence of drama.

• Philosophy a property or group of properties of something without which it would not exist or be what it is.
• something that exists; in particular, a spiritual entity : the position that names express essences.
• an extract or concentrate obtained from a particular plant or other matter and used for flavoring or scent

This show is the best of a great run of February shows, 2/2, 2/03, 2/14, and 2/23-2/23 Kings Beach Lake Tahoe (aka, Dick’s Picks Vol. 22) are all outstanding shows in an outstand run of Anthem shows. This is better show than Dick’s Picks 22. Also excellent audio and mixing.

The second set is the Anthem of the Sun live: the complete album with the order of the songs as on the album. In fact, much of this show was used on Anthem of the Sun. Plus, a Spanish Jam thrown in for good measure.

If it were just the second set, this would be a great show. But the first set is also great. It starts with typically Morning Dew of the period, with Pigpen’s keyboard supplying the groundwork for the Jerry-Phil-Bob jam. Dark Star, still less than two months old at this point, and still a short, but it’s tight. DS goes into China Cat (they hadn’t written St. Stephan yet for between Dark Star and the Eleven. This is pretty rare, as the played China Cat in this sequence only for a few months before dropping it for St. Stephen. I love the sound of this China Cat, fast and raw and together, with Jerry really in the zone. It then takes off into the Eleven. Driving with energy, Pigpen’s organ pushes the Eleven along. It’s also clean and tight with great vocals. The Eleven resolves neatly into Turn on Your Lovelight, continuing the force of the set. This is only the second time they played Lovelight, but it’s a dandy.

Jerry dedicates the second set to the memory of Neal Cassady (“Cowboy Neal”), who had died the previous week. A fitting dedication. Then comes a nearly perfect Anthem of the Sun set, and it’s easy to see why they used it on the album. Cryptical>Other One is pure dynamite, and crips and clean and tight, the way performances of Passenger from 1977 are tight—everything is in the right place.

One thing great about this show is that the transitions are smooth and flawless, including the one into New Potato. This features some artful improvising by Phil after the vocals. Jerry lets Phil go at it alone and then comes in with some rhythm guitar licks, slowly building in intensity. It’s masterful. The rarely performed Born Cross-Eyed is a natural capper, but the action doesn’t end here. After all this energy, the Dead go into a spacy, long Spanish Jam that ebbs and flows, and evolves in mood.

Pigpen’s vocal isn’t loud enough in Alligator, but the Alligator jam is fabulous. Following Jerry in this jam is like following Coltrane. Things then speed up for Caution, and the Dead go off into another zone altogether. Caution and feedback are inspired, building to controlled chaos before receding into nothingness.

There are a few different versions of this show here at archive. This is the best, with a patch of the cut in the Alligator jam.

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5 stars for the mix
5 stars for the recording
5 stars for the performance
5 stars for Charlie Miller, Joe B. Jones, Pat Lee and Matt Smith

A "MUST HAVE" for all collectors of 1968 GRATEFUL DEAD. I highly recommend adding this to your 1968 collection.

Sounds like some tracks (Drums, Alligator) were used on "Anthem of the Sun". " Come on everybody get up and dance we want to ruin ya" <----off of Anthem...

The Internet Archive recommends RealPlayer for streaming and downloading for users of Windows XP.

Get it while you can, get it while it's free, get it now or you'll be sorry.

Eat, Drink, Be Merry and Listen to the GRATEFUL DEAD.

Thanks for the Love.

PS: Click on Charlie Miller's name and collect all his GRATEFUL DEAD shows, he has impeccable taste.

Oh wow.
1968 was a stellar year and this show is one of the highlights.

yes folks, highflow & cliff speak truth; this is a mesmerizing, acid-laced stunner, a remarkable historical document that compares favourably to pretty much anything else from the period; bath yourself in this beauty and be transformed

A time-capsule show, for certain.

Just soak it in......it's all so pure. It bristles electric.

This is a holy grail show.

Nice upgrade here, sure wish alot of '69 files sounded this crispy...